This is the punk / hardcore music almanac. This is the most comprehensive punk and hardcore music zine I’ve ever come across. This San Francisco zine has been around for more than 14 years, covering various punk and hardcore bands from all over the globe. Among literally hundreds of indie music ads are featured columns on anything from gig reviews to articles on online punk resources (www.mp3s4punx.com being a personal favourite). MRR also includes a news section on various political issues from Sri Lanka rebels to John Ashcroft’s plan to put “enemy combatant” citizens into massive camps. The zine’s best sections are by far the interviews and reviews. MRR interviews more than ten different bands, ranging from established to up and coming artists. This is easily the best way, outside of going to a gig, to get an idea of the personalities that make up the punk / hardcore world. MRR also contains great film and book review sections comprising of mostly DIY punk fiction and reviews of indie punk film nights. When it comes to the record review section, MRR proves to be inexhaustible, reviewing at least 200 punk, garage, and hardcore albums from just about everywhere. MRR concludes with a pretty big zine reviews section, with a fairly wide range of zines given the strict punk content of the rest of zine. Our very own Broken Pencil finds its way in here as well. All that can be said is that this is a massive zine and an invaluable resource to anyone even remotely interested in punk, garage, or hardcore. (James King)
music zine, #233, $3, PO BOX 460760, San Francisco CA, 94146-0760, [email protected]